Page 26 of Fire in Stone

“Hey! Let her go.” Elex ran after us, mowing through the men who tried to stop him.

The doors of a newly arrived vehicle opened. The men who exited this one looked very different from the denim and leather clad criminals of the Miller Brothers gang. Each of the newcomers was easily over six feet tall. Dressed in black, they had identical tattoos on their necks and right arms. All were bald.

Madame Tan’s people, I realized with dread—bracks.

Everything Elex had told me about them rushed over me now. These weren’t humans but the supernatural beings in service to a freaking goddess.

One of the Miller Brothers got too close to abrack. The otherworldly creature shoved him aside. The poor thug flew halfway across the road.

“Hey!” He scrambled to his feet but stayed away from them.

Thebrackswere as strong as Elex. And there were a lot of them. They headed my way, and my knees started shaking. Fear, stronger than before, chilled me, paralyzing my muscles.

“No…” I groaned.

The thug holding me didn’t realize the menace moving our way. Or maybe they were all in it together? Did the Miller Brothers team up with Madame’sbracks? All of them against me?

Panic jolted me into action. I elbowed my captor.

“Get off me!” I twisted in his grip, ignoring the sharp pain at my roots as a bunch of my hair remained fisted in his hand. Gathering all my strength, I kicked him in his shin. Sadly, the flat heel of my running shoe didn’t cause nearly as much damage as I wished to inflict, but it made him angry.

“Sheisse!”he cursed, letting go of my middle to shove his fist into my ribs.

I gasped in pain. He yanked something from his pocket—a knife. It opened with a cold sound of metal sliding against metal.

“One more move, bitch, and you’re dead.” He pressed the knife to my neck. A warm trickle of blood slipped down my throat as the blade pierced my skin.

“Oh God…” I croaked, freezing terror spreading through my veins.

My heart all but stopped in my chest as I watched the humans andbrackscircling Elex, ready to attack. There were too many of them. All against one.

I couldn’t protect myself. I’d failed Elex, too…

Suddenly, the men swarming Elex retreated. With a shriek, one of them flew up from the crowd, then landed with a thud a couple of feet away from me. Next, abrackfell on his ass, too.

Did Elex do that?

“What the fuck?” My captor froze in shock, easing the press of the blade at my neck.

Using the moment, I shoved away from him and slammed my knee into his crotch as hard as I could. He doubled over in pain with a startled groan, letting go of my hair.

I dashed away from him, swerving to avoid another man flying over my head.

“Elex!” I yelled, running in his direction.

The thugs fell back, revealing Elex, and I skidded to a stop at full speed, my shoes digging grooves in the lawn on the side of the road.

Elex was growing, changing. He rose above the crowd, turning into a creature I’d never seen in my life.

His neck had stretched. His torso bulged out, ripping my t-shirt with the cat to shreds. His arms lengthened, fingers curling into claws. Similar long claws broke through the leather of his boots. His pants were torn to pieces as his legs turned into massive hind paws.

A pair of great, leathery wings unfurled at his back, spanning the road like a pair of sails. Black, hard scales covered his entire body, shining like gold in the sunlight.

A dragon had emerged in front of me.

He swiped one massive paw, sending abrackflying.

I stood too close but was unable to move a muscle to flee. He could snap my neck with a flick of a claw. Frozen in awe, I’d be powerless to do anything about it.

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